Damn
by MisterMoonyLovesYou
Summary: Who is Remus taking out on Friday night? Tonks is prepared to do anything to figure it out.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter. Yes, I own the plot line. But wonderful Tonks and amazing, spectacular, too good for words Remus Lupin belongs to JK Rowling. So does everything else Harry Potter related. You all know that, or you probably wouldn't be here about to read this.  
  
Author's Note: Why, helloooooo there! How are you this fine evening? I'm doing quite swell myself. This is just a little one shot, no plot, piece of fluff that came to me the other night as I sat in my SAT Prep Course. I was staring quite dreamingly as the incredibly sexy yet at the same time amazingly dorky kid who sits across from me (those blue eyes! That dark, unruly hair! His intelligence! Sigh. I want him.), and for some reason, this just popped in my head. It has nothing to do with Dreamy SAT Boy (a.k.a. Daniel) but, whatever. Hope you like it. Even though you probably wont because it's completely and utterly pointless but...oh well.  
  
Nymphadora Tonks was many things. She was a Hogwart's graduate, a trained Auror, a former Gryffindor, a present member of the Order of the Phoenix, and quite clumsy. She was known to have a quick sense of humor, was actually seemingly intelligent, and considered herself in good shape. She saw herself as many things, but the one thing Nymphadora Tonks never saw herself as was jealous.  
  
And sweet Merlin, she was jealous.  
  
She tried to tell herself she wasn't. Really, she had. She had denied all feelings of jealousy until she felt like she was damn well near combustion. And honestly, he really wasn't helping the matter. Oh, no, not at all. In fact, he just kept making it worse and worse.  
  
At first she assured herself she had heard it wrong. But no, her ears were not deceiving her. She quite clearly heard a certain sandy haired, amber-eyed werewolf tell his bestfriend repeatedly about a certain lady of his. Just the other day she had walked by the kitchen door just in time to hear – "Honestly, Sirius? I've never felt like this about any other woman in my whole entire life."  
  
She wasn't jealous. Really.  
  
Okay, she was really jealous. Really, really, really, I-Could- Continue-With-Thousands-Of-Reallys jealous. If only he would just mention once the damn mystery woman's name! Then she could find out who it is. Find out where she lived...  
  
Not that she would stalk her down or anything. No, Nymphadora Tonks was much too mature and noble then to stoop to stalking down any woman Remus Lupin had his eye on.  
  
Who was she kidding? She was head over heels for the man. Any threat had to be eliminated. Okay, not eliminated, per say, but...pushed aside.  
  
And there he goes again! Honestly, how many times can Sirius and him talk about the same damnable girl?  
  
"Well, Moony, I think its time you stop acting like a bloody little girl and actually tell her. You're not gonna get anywhere by just sitting around and telling me how much you like her." Sirius' voice sounded from the living room. Tonks stayed in her position on the first landing, staying back in the shadows. She wasn't eavesdropping or anything. Truly, she wasn't. She was just happening to overhear.  
  
Remus sighed. "I know Padfoot, I know. But you know how I am around woman. When it comes to just talking to them like a friend, I'm fine. If I try and actually talk about my feelings towards her, right to her, I might pass out." Sirius laughed, and leaned back in his chair. "I suppose I should invite her to Hogsmeade, maybe? Ask her to get a drink with me at The Three Broomsticks?"  
  
Tonks was quite aware that she was clenching her fists tighter and tighter with every word he spoke.  
  
"There you go, Moony! Now you're thinking. Ask her casually, and then, while you're both sitting there, move in for the kill." Remus rolled his eyes.  
  
"I'll be lucky if I can get the words out without stuttering too much, nevermind going in for the kill, as you like to put it. I just...I just don't want to mess this up. There's too much at stake. If this goes wrong, our friendship could be lost forever."  
  
AH HAH! So this woman was a friend of his then, huh? That narrowed it down somewhat. She quickly began going over the females in the Order. Hermione and Ginny? Too young. Minerva? Not really his type. She was more...Dumbledore's type. She shuddered at the thought before moving on. Molly? No, Remus was no homewrecker. Hestia Jones? Emmeline Vance? Possible. What about that astronomy professor at Hogwarts? Augria what's her name? She considered it for a moment, but then ruled her out. She seemed to have a little something something going on with Snape, God help her.  
  
Merlin, she had good detective skills. She was narrowing down the list of suspects, that's for sure.  
  
"So it's settled. I'll ask her tonight, after the meeting, if she'll join me Friday. That gives me two days to think about what I'm actually going to say to her when we are at The Three Broomsticks. That is if she willing to go..." Remus was saying, as he and Sirius stood. Tonks quietly slipped back upstairs. The Order meeting was only two hours away. And then it was show time.  
  
"Hello, 'Dora." Remus grinned at her as she made her way into the meeting. She blew a piece of long, dark hair out of her face and smiled back, her stomach flip-flopping. Why did he have to smile like that at her? Good Lord.  
  
"Wotcher, Remus." She sat in the chair across from him, the only empty space, and, unfortunately, the seat right next to Snape. She glanced at Snape and then back to Remus, who shrugged sympathetically. Snape, of course, was sneering. He could be such a –  
  
"Bastard." Augria-What's-Her-Name had finished Tonks thought as she glared at Snape. Snape just sneered back at her.  
  
"Twit." He muttered. Augria rolled her eyes. Hah. She liked this Augria character. She seemed to be the only one who could put Snape in his place. Just then, Dumbledore rose to his feet, and silence engulfed the long table.  
  
I will not fall asleep. I will not fall asleep. This is an extremely important meeting. Extremely important. I will not fall asleep. Tonks repeated the command to herself over and over, willing herself to obey. She couldn't help that her eyelids were slowly closing. Only five more minutes, she told herself, forcing her eyes wide, and then it was done. Damn heavy eyelids. Wouldn't. Stay. Open.  
  
Tonk's sighed and resorted in holding her eyelids up with her fingers. Oh well. It was better then nothing. She glanced across the table to find Lupin staring quite amused back at her. Damn him and his smirks. And his sandy blond hair, with its little specks of gray. Damn those amber eyes that were always dancing, and his slightly shabby robes. Damn that damn woman he was going to ask out after this dreadful meeting was adjourned.  
  
"That will be all. You will be summoned with the next meeting date shortly. Thank you for being here." Dumbledore smiled at them all, and the sound of chairs scraping against the tile floor of the kitchen could be heard as people stood to leave. Tonks stood, stretching her arms over her head. She shot one glance at Remus, who hadn't risen from his chair yet and was looking noticeably paler as he stared at his hands. He's nervous. Damn the woman who makes him nervous.  
  
She made a note to herself to slowly eliminate 'damn' from her vocabulary. She used it entirely too much.  
  
She strolled across the room, making her way close to the entrance. She secured herself a spot where she was at a far enough distance from him, but close enough so she could see him approach the mystery woman of his dreams. She distractedly stuck her hand in her pockets and tried to pretend like she wasn't watching.  
  
"Oy, Tonks!" Tonks glanced over at the sound of her name to see Fred – or was it George? – Weasley making his way over to her.  
  
"Hello...er..."  
  
"George." He said, rolling his eyes, but grinning. "How was the meeting?"  
  
"I'm not telling." She said automatically, keeping an eye on Remus who had finally risen from his chair. Out of the corner of her eye she also spotted Sirius watching him expectantly, a small smile playing on his lips.  
  
"Aw, come on Tonks. Just give us a few details. We're dying here!" George begged, clearly having had hoped that Tonks would reveal Order business to him and the other members still too young to have joined.  
  
"Nope. Sorry." Tonks watched him slowly walk around the table. Who was he heading to? Emmeline Vance was closest to him, talking to Mundungus Fletcher. Tonks knew she never liked her.  
  
"Okay, Tonks, just tell me this? Did Dumbledore appoint a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts yet? Did he mention anything at all about the position?"  
  
"He hasn't yet appointed anyone." Tonks told him, shrugging. Here he goes...he's walking straight up to her and Dung...and straight past her? Okay, cross out Emmeline Vance.  
  
"Are you sure?" George insisted. Tonks nodded. Okay, he was now almost on her side of the kitchen. And he was going right to...Hestia Jones. Hmph. Another woman she knew she was never fond of. Damn woman.  
  
Oh right. No damn. She wasn't allowed to use that word anymore.  
  
Horrid woman. Hestia Jones was a horrid woman that Remus Lupin clearly....just walked by. Tonks, who had clearly shut George out by now, looked around her. Who was left? Minerva was on the other side of the room! And there was Augria, arguing with, who else, but Snape. There were other woman scattered here and there, but who was Remus going to go to? She was going mad! Insane! She had to know! She must find out! Who was he going to? He seemed to be walking right in her direction, but there was no woman around her. Had someone left without Tonks noticing, and Remus was going to follow her? He grew nearer and nearer and she continued looking over her shoulder, waiting for some perfect woman to come walking through the door and into Remus' – she felt a hand clasp her shoulder and she turned her head to find herself face to face with that damn sandy hair, and those damn amber eyes, and that damn nervous smile crossing his face.  
  
"Hello 'Dora. I was wondering if you were busy Friday night?" 


	2. The Meeting

Disclaimer: Surprise! I still don't own Harry Potter. I know, I know, it's a shocker.  
  
Author's Note: I really wasn't going to write this. I had no intentions of continuing the first chapter. I was just going to leave it like that because I really couldn't think of anywhere to go with it. But then a few people reviewed asking for another chapter and I got a few emails asking about it, so here goes nothing.  
  
She was late.  
  
She had told Remus she would meet him exactly at 5 at The Three Broomsticks, and it was now 5:05. And, honestly, she had really tried to be on time. She even got to Hogsmeade an hour early, but just as luck would have it, it was a Hogsmeade weekend for the kids at Hogwarts, and she had bumped into Fred and George. And they had some of their new products with them and...well, now she was late.  
  
She was late for a date with Remus Lupin. She, Nymphadora Tonks, was going on a date with Remus Lupin. She couldn't believe it. Okay, so maybe he hadn't exactly called it a date, he had said something more along the lines as "going to The Three Broomsticks, get a drink or two", but still, it was nice to think it was a date.  
  
She glanced at her watch that simply read "move it or lose it." Fantastic. She turned the corner and there in front of her stood the wonderful old pub, filled with adults and Hogwarts students alike. She reached to open the door when a horrifying thought popped into her head.  
  
What if he had left? She was exactly 6 minutes late. What if he had grown impatient as her carelessness and decided to leave, realizing it was a bad idea to begin with? Oh Merlin, that would just be bad. Bad, bad, bad. She stood at the door, contemplating whether she should enter or not and face her fate. What if she had ruined the only chance with the man of her dreams? Bloody –  
  
"Tonks?" An incredulous voice sounded behind her. She whirled around to find herself face to face with Harry Potter.  
  
"Wotcher, Harry." She smiled at him. He stared at her curiously.  
  
"Er, Tonks. Why were you just staring at the door of The Three Broomsticks like you had forgotten how to open it?"  
  
"Er." Right. She was quite the articulate one, she was. Harry stared at her again curiously before shaking his head.  
  
"Well, lets go in then, shall we? Ron and the others are waiting for me." Harry pushed the door open and the bell tinkled. Tonks took a deep breath and followed him in, watching him sit at a nearby table with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, who all waved. She waved back, then averted her gaze back to the noisy pub, her eyes quickly scanning the empty room. After coming out empty, she sighed and went to turn towards the door. No Remus. She was right, of course. He had made a huge mistake, he didn't really want to ask her in the first place, and he had just suffered from a temporary bought of madness. Figures.  
  
It was nice while it lasted, that brief fleeting moment of hope that maybe, just maybe, she was the damn woman Remus Lupin had feelings for. But nooooo, of course not. She could never get someone like Remus Lupin. She attracted men with brightly colored hair and weird piercings covering their bodies, not someone intelligent and mature like Remus. Not to mention he was just so damn cute. She sighed dramatically again and made her way back to the door. She had just about reached it when she felt a hand touch her arm. She turned back, expecting to see Harry or one of the others. She was not expecting to see his amber colored eyes staring into hers.  
  
"Well, well, Nymphadora. I was quite sure you had stood me up before I spotted you." Oh Merlin, he was so...so...dreamy. No, she took that back. She sounded like a member of a certain Magical Me's fan club. He was so...what's the word? Charming. That's the word.  
  
"Why would you think that?" She finally sputtered, not being able to think of anything else. Remus smiled.  
  
"Because you weren't here?" Right. Duh. Why was she so damn stupid?  
  
She mentally kicked herself for saying damn. She was still trying to kick the habit. She grinned weakly back at him.  
  
"Right. The Weasleys cornered me. You know how they are." He gave her an understanding smile.  
  
"Ah, yes. I think we all know quite well how the Weasley twins are. Care to go sit down, or would you rather stand here by the door the whole time?" He began to walk towards a table saved in the back. Since when did Remus Lupin become so...witty?  
  
"Since when did you become so witty?" Ah well, nothing was ever accomplished by beating around the bush. He threw her another smile over his shoulder.  
  
"Since when did you stop knocking things over everytime you walk?"  
  
Score one for Moony.  
  
He sat at the table for two towards the back, and Tonks sat across from him. "I haven't. I still knock things over all the time. There's just nothing in here to knock over. All the chairs are occupied, see, so I cant really just tip them over." He nodded, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"I see." He was quiet for a second. What was he thinking? Probably how much he wanted to leave now that he was here. He was probably going to get up any second, screaming that he had made a horrible mistake, that he had wished she never came – "I'm glad you came, Dora."  
  
Okay, so maybe he wasn't going to run away screaming. Yet. She swallowed.  
  
"I'm glad you invited me." Another smile. Everytime he smiled she couldn't help but smile back. It was contagious. Tonks was aware of the silence that fell around them at that moment, but found that she really didn't care.  
  
"Hello there Remus!" The waitress had found her way towards the table. "Two butterbeers to start you and your friend off, then?"  
  
Merlin, she would need something stronger then a butterbeer to get her through this night without passing out. She felt strongly compelled to ask for a firewhiskey on the rocks but held it in. Getting sloshed might not be the best way to go about a first date.  
  
Okay, not a date. A first...meeting.  
  
Right, a meeting. She glanced up at Remus who was politely thanking the waitress. He was so well mannered....and intelligent...and mature...and had she mentioned charming? Not dreamy...charming.  
  
Right. "Nymphadora –"  
  
Okay, not even he was allowed to call her Nymphadora. Granted, he could call her a many of things if that's what he wanted, but not Nymphadora. No one called her Nymphadora.  
  
"Tonks." She interrupted. He took a sip of his butterbeer and shook his head, but Tonks could see the smile in his eyes.  
  
"Right, my mistake. Tonks, then. Tonks, you're probably wondering why I invited you here."  
  
Wondering was an understatement. How about it had kept her up at night, tossing and turning, since two days prior when he had asked? And even after those two days of sincere thinking, she was baffled. She was utterly clueless.  
  
"You could say that." She cringed at her unintelligent and so not witty response. She had planned on keeping him on his toes.  
  
"Well, Nym - Tonks. It's just that, I've known you now since August when we went and retrieved Harry, and its now November, and I still feel like I don't know as much about you as I would...like to know." Tonks noted that he looked reasonably nervous as he said this. Was she, Nymphadora (cringe) Tonks, making him, Remus Lupin, nervous? Was it possible? She stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He was staring at his bottle of butterbeer.  
  
Maybe she should continue. Right. She was still new at all this going on dates with Remus Lupin kind of stuff.  
  
Meeting, that is.  
  
"Well, that makes sense. What would you like to know?" He looked up from his bottle and Tonks was delighted to see he was smiling.  
  
"Everything." Tonks smiled back at him, and she couldn't help but notice that they were looking into each other's eyes. They were completely, no doubt about it, sharing a MOMENT. A moment! She was having a moment with one Mister Remus-  
  
"Lupin! Tonks! Fancy meeting you here!" Tonks glanced up at one of the Weasley twins and gave him the most murderous glare she could muster. She was already thinking of ways to kill Fred – or George, whichever one it was – as soon as she left.  
  
"Together, none the less. We had no idea!" The other twin clapped a hand on Remus' shoulder and gave him a huge, corny wink. The two young girls standing next to the twins gave her sympathetic glances. Tonks waved them off. It wasn't their fault the twins were horrible boys who could not see they were interrupting a MOMENT.  
  
"Fred. George. Nice seeing you. Hello Ms. Johnson, Ms. Bell." Remus said politely, all though the lingering blush on his face and the very un- Lupin like glances he was giving the twins gave away his true feeling. So he had felt it too then...the MOMENT. Bloody twins!  
  
"Mind if we sit?" Tonks kept her mouth shut. No, no, of course! Go ahead and sit! Ruin the whole dat- meeting, go right ahead! This time the girls the twins who were with them cringed outwardly.  
  
"George. We wouldn't want to interrupt them. Come on, we have to head back to the castle soon anyway. Lets go." Thank Merlin for the girl Remus had referred to as Ms. Bell.  
  
"Yes, we really should be going. It was nice seeing you, Professor." The other girl grabbed Fred's hand and started to pull him away. George and the other girl followed.  
  
"Yeah, nice seeing you Professor. Sorry about them." George rolled his eyes at the blond girl pulling his hand.  
  
"Merlin, Katie, I just wanted to say –"He was cut off by a whack to the head.  
  
"See you later, Lupin! Tonks! Let us know when the wedding is!" Fred yelled over his shoulder. Tonks very much believed he deserved the smack his girl gave him on the head. She was never more grateful to see the twins gone.  
  
"Well, Fred and George do have a talent for showing up at the worst times, don't they?" Remus said, before downing the rest of his butterbeer. Tonks was still cursing the twins mentally.  
  
"Yes. They most certainly do." They were silent. Damn silence.  
  
Silence.  
  
Still silence.  
  
Tonks hated silence.  
  
"I hate silence." She wanted to smack herself. That was the dumbest, stupidest thing she could ever have possibly said! Stupid, stupid, stupid Tonks!  
  
Tonks looked up in surprise to see he was laughing. Laughing at how stupid she was, no doubt. She had to go and ruin it, she just had to go and ruin it.  
  
"I must agree with you. Silence is most uncomfortable..." He was still smiling as he leaned into the table. She remembered she was also leaning into the table. Her stomach flipped at being this close. "The thing is, Dora, I...well, er...I..."  
  
Remus Lupin, stuttering over his words? Interesting. Very interesting.  
  
"I was hoping this wouldn't be a one time thing. I was hoping that we could do this again, except maybe at a location the farthest away from the Weasleys as possible." His hopeful smile made her want to melt. Screw charming. He was most definitely DREAMY. There, she had said it! He was dreamy, and that was the only word to describe him!  
  
She wanted to tell him how she would go anywhere he wanted to go and never leave, but she found herself simply saying. "Yeah, sure. That'd be great."  
  
She even surprised herself with her stupidness sometimes.  
  
"Wonderful." He was smiling again. He had smiled a lot tonight, she happily noted. She had made him smile. "Now, about telling me about yourself. I hope you have some time to spare, cause if I remember correctly, I wanted to know everything."  
  
Tonks wanted to wipe off the dumb grin that she knew was on her face, but she found it impossible. Instead, she found herself starting to talk. And talk, and talk. And then he talked, and talked, and then she talked some more. And she was aware of her use of the word 'damn' about fifty times, but she shrugged it off.  
  
Some old habits were hard to kick.  
  
Besides, Remus didn't seem to mind. In fact, he had quite the habit of saying 'Merlin' one too many times. It was one of the many things she was slowly learning about him.  
  
She realized he was smiling again at her.  
  
Damn that smile. It made her want to jump on the table and break out in dance and song.  
  
Which wasn't so uncommon for Tonks to do. But, this was the first meeting, after all. There would be time for dancing and singing later.  
  
At all the other meetings, of course.  
  
Right. 


End file.
